Pipe holding vise



April 1943. P. B. WALLACE PIPE HOLDING VISE -Filed sept. 2, 1941 IN V EN TOR.

AT ORNEY.

Patented Apr. 27, 1943 PIPE HOLDING VISE Philip B. Wallace, San Francisco, Calif., assignor to U. S. Pine Bending 00., San Francisco, Calif., a partnership of California,

Application September 2, 1941, Serial No. 409,209

5 Claims.

My present invention relates to a pipe holding device, and more particularly to a vise for holding the end of a pipe upon a pipe bending machine of the type illustrated in my prior Patent No. 1,473,893 on Bending machine, issued jointly to me and Frank H. Fox.

An object of the invention is to provide a vise for holding pipe and other objects in which the gripping action of the vise is accomplished in a simple, efiicient and novel manner.

Another object of the invention is to provide a pipe holding vise for bending machines in which the pipe gripping and releasing operation of the vise is accomplished by lever means of novel construction.

Another object of the invention is to provide anew and eifective means for gripping large pipes and other objects in a simple and convenient manner with a minimum of separation of the gripping elements of the vise.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will be in part evident to those skilled in the art and in part pointed out hereinafter in the following description taken in connection with the accompanying drawing, wherein there is shown by way of illustration and not of limitation preferred embodiments thereof.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is a perspective view of one form of the invention,

Figure 2 is a vertical sectional view taken Iongitudinally through the device illustrated in Figure 1, I

Figures 3 and 4 are perspective views showing details of the device as illustrated in Figures 1 and 2,

Figures 5 and 6 are respectively a side elevation and plan view with parts broken away to illustrate details of construction,

Figure 7 is a fragmentary side elevation partly in section showing a modification of the invention, and

Figure 8 is a perspective view showing a detail of the construction used in the device as illustrated in Figure '7.

While my invention may find many fields of application, I have, for the purpose of illustration, shown it as mounted upon the frame or stationary portion of a pipe bending machine, such as is illustrated in the aforesaid patent. As here shown, the vise comprises a body member II) that is slidably mounted upon a supporting frame II which, as above suggested, forms a part of a pipe bending machine. The body member I0 has an upstanding integral jaw forming portion I2 and cooperating with this jaw forming portion I2 there is an outwardly disposed jaw forming portion H which is movable relative to the body member Ill. The outwardly disposed jaw forming portion I3 has a threaded portion [4 which extends adjacent and under the body member I'll where it carries an abutment forming member I5 that is adjustable therealong by means of a threaded nut I6. The

abutment forming member I5 is here shown as in the form of an inverted channel-like member so that it may be conveniently removed and replaced by similar members of difierent lengths, as the work requires. As an alternative, it is also contemplated that the abutment forming member I5 may be in the form of a cylindrical sleeve which may entirely surround the threaded portion M. The body member i0 is shown as provided with a walled aperture i7, and extending transversely through this walled aperture I! of the body member Ill there is a shaft I8 which, as is more clearly shown in Figure 2, has

an eccentric portion I9 that is located within the walled aperture IT. The shaft I8 carries an operating lever 20 and upon the eccentric portion I!) of the transversely extending shaft I8 there is a novel lever forming member 2!. As shown in Figure 4 of the drawing, the lever forming member 2| is bifurcated or forked at its lower end so as to provide a pair of downwardly extending ears 22 which straddle the threaded portion 14 of the movable jaw forming member l3. These ears 22 are extended outwardly slightg ly and rounded off so as to engage the inner end of the adjustable abutment forming member I5, and at its upper end the lever forming member 2I carries an upwardly and outwardly extending lip 23. This lip 23 upon the lever forming member 2I is adapted to engage an inwardly inclined bearing surface 24 that is formed upon the rearward wall of the aperture II formed in the body member II] and, as a result, when the trans, versely extending shaft I8 is rotated, the lever forming member 2| will be'first operated as a lever of the third-class with its fulcrum upon the inclined surface 24. This will cause the out the transversely extending shaft I 3 will cause the lever forming member 2i to be carried downwardly and, as a result of the inclined character -of the surface 24 upon the rear wall of the Then, after the eccentric portion I9 upon the shaft I8 has passed its extreme off-center position, further rotation of .in the projecting end of the shaft l8.

aperture l1 and the outwardly extending lip 23, it will operate as a wedge to exert a further vise tightening effort against the abutment l5. Under these conditions, with suitably formed pipe engaging blocks 25 and 26 between the jaw forming members l2 and I3 of the vise, it will be possible to clamp a length of pipe 21 in such a manner that it will be held firmly against rotation and/r axial displacement. At the same time, due to the wedge-like action of the lever forming member 2|, the vise will be.

held in this condition without any danger of a loosening thereof by any stresses placed upon the pipe 21, as during a bending thereof.

As will be more clearly seen from an inspection of Figures 3 and 4 of the drawing, the transversely extending shaft I8 and the lever forming member 2| are adapted to be mounted in and held in cooperating relation with the body member |ll without any securing means other than that which is provided by the operating lever 20 that extends through a hole 28 formed In its preferred form, the shaft |8 has an enlarged end 29 that is concentric to the smaller portion of the shaft, and the eccentric portion I9 is formed intermediate these portions with an eccentricity that is equal to one-half the difference in the diameters of these two portions of the shaft. With this arrangement it will be seen that the shaft I8 can be projected through the body member ill from the rear side thereof and through the lever forming member 2| when the latter is positioned in th walled aperture l1 and finally secured in place by the insertion of the operating lever 20 through the hole 28 at the projecting end of the shaft |8. As shown in Figure 4 of the drawing, the lever forming member 2| has a width corresponding to the axial length of the eccentric portion l9 formed, as above described, upon the transversely extending shaft |8.

While I have illustrated and described an embodiment of my invention in which the movable jaw forming portion of my device is formed as a single unit, it is to be understood that the invention may take many other forms. For example, as illustrated in Figures and 6 of the drawing, instead of the movable jaw forming member I3, I may provide a movable jaw supporting member 39 having a threaded inwardly extending portion 3| that corresponds to the threaded portion |4 hereinabove referred to. Like the threaded portion I4, the movable jaw supporting member 30 of this embodiment will carry an abutment forming sleeve which will cooperate with the lever forming member 2| carried by the transversely extending shaft l8 journaled upon the body member H) in' a manner similar to that described above. As here shown, the movable jaw supporting member 30 has an opening 32 into which a projecting end 33 of a rocker-bar .34 is extended. At its upper end the rocker-bar 34 has a similar projecting end 35 that extends into an opening 36' formed in the outer end of a tie-bar 31. At its other end the tie-bar 31 is threaded to receive an adjustable nut 38 that engages two spaced ears 39 formed upon the body member l0. As here illustrated, the openings 32 and 36 formed respectively in the movable jaw supporting member 3|] and the tie-bar 31 are of a diameter slightly larger than the extending ends 33 and 35 of the rocker-bar 34. In its preferred form, this rocker-bar 34 has a curved surface which will permit it to rock over the outer surface of the pipe engaging block. 25 when it is drawn into final clamping engagement therewith, as when the lever is operated to tighten the vise. This embodiment of my invention is particularly adapted for use with heavy objects, such as pipe of large diameter. An advantage of this arrangement is that it provides a vise with which extremely high pressures can be exerted without subjecting the clamping jaws to any ibending stress, such as might be the .case with a movable jaw l3 of the character shown in Figure 1 of the drawing. This arrangement has the further advantage that it can be easily released and disassembled so as to facilitate a placing of the large objects or heavy pipe therein. When constructed in this manner, it will be seen that with the lever forming member 2| released, the lower end of the rocker-bar 34 may be moved outwardly from the clamping block and, at the same time, the tie-bar 31 may be taken off to permit the insertion of the pipe 21 therein. After the pipe 21 is placed in the vise and the rocker-bar 34 with its tie-bar 31 is positioned over the pipe 21, as here shown, the adjustable nut 38 will be turned up by hand until the clamping blocks 25 and 26 are brought into engagement with the cylindrical surface of the pipe 21. Then, by an operation of the lever 20, it will be possible to draw the movable jaw supporting member inwardly and thus effect a final and secure clamping of the pipe 21.

In the embodiment of my invention illustrating Figure 7 of the drawing, I have dispensed with the outer pressure block 25 and have substituted therefor a pipe encircling means that may take the form of a cable, a steel strap, or a chain 40 which, as here shown, is connected at its lower end to a movable jaw Supporting member 4|. At its upper end the chain 40 has a threaded extension 42 which carries a nut 43 that is adapted to engage with the ears 39 upon the body member Hi. In this arrangement, the movable jaw supporting member 4|, like the jaw supporting member 30, carries an extending threaded portion 44 upon which the adjustable abutment I5 is adapted to be positioned in cooperating relation with the lever forming member 2|, as above described. Formed in its upper surface, this movable jaw supporting member 4| also has an undercut or T-slot 45 into which the projecting ends of a pin 46 carried at the lower end of the chain 4|] are adapted to be secured. The T-slot 45 is shown in Figure 8 of the drawing as terminating at a point 41 corresponding to that of the hole 32 formed in the movable jaw supporting member 30 previously described and, therefore, if the vise is equipped with a movable jaw supporting member 4| of this type, it will be possible to use the rocker-bar 34 and its tie-bar 31 interchangeably with the chain 4|]. In operation, when the vise is provided with the chain 40, as here shown, it will be seen that after the lever 20 has been operated to release the lever forming member 2|, all tension will be removed from the chain 40 and, as a result, the threaded extension 42 with the nut 43 can be lifted free of the cars 39 upon the body member Hi to thuspermit the removal of the pipe 21.

While I have, for the sake of clearness and in order to disclose the invention so that the same i can be readily understood, described and illustrated specific devices and arrangements, I desire to have it understood that all such changes as comewithin the scope of the claims are to be considered as part of this invention.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim and desire to secure by Letters Patent is:

1. In a vise of the character described, the combination of a body member having a stationary jaw portion and a walled aperture extending vertically therethrough at the rear of said jaw portion, a movable jaw forming member having a threaded portion extending through said body member and beyond said walled aperture, an adjustable sleeve mounted upon the threaded portion of said movable jaw forming member, a shaft extending through said body member and having an eccentric portion disposed within the walled aperture of said body member, a lever forming member pivotally mounted upon the eccentric portion of said shaft engageable at one end with a wall of said walled aperture and engageable at its other end with said adjustable sleeve, and means for rotating said shaft, whereby said lever forming member will have a sliding fulcrum at its point of engagement with the wall of said aperture to exert pressure upon said adjustable sleeve and cause said jaws to move into clamping relation with each other,

2. In a vise of the character described, the combination of a body member having an integral jaw portion and a walled aperture extending vertically therethrough at the rear of said jaw portion, a movable jaw forming member having a threaded portion extending through said body member and beyond said walled aperture, an abutment carried by the threaded portion of said movable jaw forming member, a shaft extending transversely through said body member and having an eccentric portion disposed within the walled aperture of said body member, a lever forming member pivotally mounted upon the eccentric portion of said shaft engageable at its upper end with the rear wall of said walled aperture and engageable at its lower end with the abutment carried by the threaded extension portion of said movable jaw member, and means for rotating said transversely extending shaft, whereby said lever forming member will operate as a lever of the third-class with a sliding fulcrum to exert pressure upon said abutment and cause said jaws to move into clamping relation with each other.

3. In a vise of the character described, the combination of a body member having a jaw portion and a walled aperture extending therethrough at the rear of said jaw portion, a movable jaw supporting member having a threaded portion extending through said body member and beyond said walled aperture, an adjustable abutment mounted upon the threaded portion of said movable jaw supporting member, a shaft extending transversely through said body member and having an eccentric portion disposed within th walled aperture of said body member, a, lever forming member pivotally mounted upon the eccentric portion of said shaft engageable at one end with the rearward wall of said walled aperture and engageable at its other end with the adjustable abutment upon the threaded portion of said movable jaw supporting member, the rearward wall of said walled aperture being inclined toward the axis of said shaft, and means for rotating said transversely extending shaft, whereby said lever forming member will operate with a combined lever and wedge-like action to exert pressure upon said abutment and move said movable jaw supporting member relative to said body member.

4. An operating means for a pipe clamping device of th character described, comprising a stationary and movable pipe engaging means, a threaded means carried by said movable pipe engaging means and extending adjacent said stationary means, a shaft journaled'upon said stationary pipe engaging means having an eccentric crank-like portion, a lever mounted upon the eccentric crank-like portion of said shaft and having a forked end disposed in straddling relation with said threaded means and an oppositely extending offset end, means carried by said stationary pipe engaging means forming a fulcrum with which the offset end of said lever slidably engages, an abutment upon said threaded means against which the forked ends of said lever engage, and means for turning said shaft, whereby said lever will b moved with a combined lever and wedge-like action to exert pressure upon said abutment and cause said movable pipe engagin means to move into clamping relation with said stationary pipe engaging means.

5. An operating means for a pipe clamping device of the character described, comprising a stationary and movable pipe engaging means, a threaded means carried by said movable pipe engaging means extending under said stationary means, a transversely extending shaft journaled upon said stationary pipe engaging means and having an eccentric crank-like portion, a floating lever mounted upon the eccentric crank-like portion of said shaft having a forked lower end disposed in straddling relation with said threaded means and a rearwardly extending upper end, means upon said stationary pipe engaging means forming an inclined surface with which the upper end of said floating lever engages, an abutment forming sljeeve adjustably secured upon said threaded means against which the forked ends of said floating lever engage, and means for rotating said transversely extending shaft, whereby said floating lever will operate with a combined lever and wedge-like action to exert pressure upon said abutment and caus said movable pipe engaging means to move toward said stationary pipe engaging means;

PHILIP B. WALLACE. 

